Gaming Rig: Squeezing the best performance out of (~ $1000 - $1250)

[Dhx]

Hello, everyone. I've been out of the loop for a few years on hardware and could use some assistance piecing together a mid-range gaming PC. The vision I want to follow is to spend where it counts, and not overspend for questionable gains/future-proofing.


This is what I'm looking for:

• Use: Primarily gaming at 1920x1200 (currently SWTOR)
• Budget: ~ $1000 - $1250
  
• Shop: USA
• OC: I'd like to OC to reasonable/reliable limits
• Brands: No brand preference; quiet and reliable is a plus
• When: End of February

Parts List Primer:

• Case: I need help here. I desire a full tower that looks sleek but not gaudy.

• CPU: Intel 2500K ($230)

• CPU-Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo ($35)

• MoBo: ASRock Z68 Extreme Gen 3 ($122) or GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 ($117)
  • Also could use help here. I'm just looking for a full featured, motherboard and am willing to pay a little more if the benefit is there. I don't need a ton of ports, however.

• RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 2 x 4GB = 8GB ($47)

• SSD: Crucial M4 128 GB ($164) or OCZ Agility 3 120GB ($170)
  • Again, I'm not versed here and the benchmarks seem all over the place with these two.
• HDD : HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D ($100) or Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB ($140)
  • Honestly not keen on spending $40 for 250GB. I only list both in case there is a performance/reliability reason to go with the Seagate.
    

• GPU:GIGABYTE GeForce 560 Ti OC ($225 - Purchased for current PC; will be reusing)

• PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750w ($95)

• DVD: Lite-On DVD Burner ($18)
  • I have no idea at all here, but this seems to be the consensus.

TOTAL: $1042 + Case (Highest priced choices except the Seagate 1TB)



I feel like this is a solid primer but invite any and all tweaks. I'd love to keep the price down, but am willing to approach my ~ $1250 barrier if I'm getting bang for the buck.


Thanks, everyone.

 

[Charlie98]

Actually, not too bad... many of those parts are in my build.

I will say the PSU is probably overkill, you could save some money on that... probably go 550w.

I'm pretty partial to the Hitachi HDD, I bought one, liked it so much I bought another for backup storage.

I have the 60GB Agility3 and like it very much, but there is some citicizm of it's SandForce-based controller... for the price I would probably get the M4 (and, in fact, I probably will when I upgrade to a 120GB SSD in the future.)

I also have the next lower version of that Gigabyte board, I like it very much. For a business and general gaming computer, the Giga board would be fine.

 

[Ken g6]

Case: Can't help you. I really don't know cases either.

CPU: If you happen to be near a Micro Center, you can get that chip for $180!

Mobo: Either is good.

RAM: There's plenty of cheaper RAM you can get. At $38, this Crucial low-voltage should be awesome!

SSD: Crucial M4, or Samsung 830 if you want to pay more. Be sure to upgrade the firmware on the M4 when you get it, if you get it.

HDD: HITACHI Deskstar

PSU: Agree with Charlie

 

[General Kenobi]

• Case: I need help here. I desire a full tower that looks sleek but not gaudy.

• CPU: Intel 2500K ($230)

• CPU-Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo ($35)

• MoBo: ASRock Z68 Extreme Gen 3 ($122) or GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 ($117)
  • Also could use help here. I'm just looking for a full featured, motherboard and am willing to pay a little more if the benefit is there. I don't need a ton of ports, however.

• RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 2 x 4GB = 8GB ($47)

• SSD: Crucial M4 128 GB ($164) or OCZ Agility 3 120GB ($170)
  • Again, I'm not versed here and the benchmarks seem all over the place with these two.
• HDD : HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D ($100) or Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB ($140)
  • Honestly not keen on spending $40 for 250GB. I only list both in case there is a performance/reliability reason to go with the Seagate.
    

• GPU:GIGABYTE GeForce 560 Ti OC ($225 - Purchased for current PC; will be reusing)

• PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750w ($95)

• DVD: Lite-On DVD Burner ($18)
  • I have no idea at all here, but this seems to be the consensus.

Case... check out Fractal Design Define XL Black Pearl. If you live near a Micro Center, you can pick up 2500K for 179.99$ in-store and save 50$. The CPU cooler is fine, I've got the same CPU/cooler.

I'd rather get the Asus P8Z68-V LE motherboard than either one of those, it's better and comes with UEFI. It's 129.99$ at Newegg. The RAM you chose is fine.

The Crucial M4 is definitely the better choice out of those two. That .D series Hitachi HDD is a good choice. The DVD writer is always OEM these days - there's no point in comparing them, just get the cheapest one.

That PSU is more than you actually need. If you want to go with Corsair, get the TX650 V2 for 74.99$ after rebate. Or if you don't care about the brand, get Antec Neo Eco 620C for 69.99$. Both will power your system with room to spare.

 

[mfenn]

I'd rather get the Asus P8Z68-V LE motherboard than either one of those, it's better and comes with UEFI. It's 129.99$ at Newegg. The RAM you chose is fine.

The LE is certainly a fine choice, but the ASRock does most certainly have UEFI.

OP, overall I agree with the other posters, especially in terms of the RAM and PSU being a bit overpriced.

As for case, what makes you think that you need/want a full tower? The components you have listed certainly don't warrant it. There are tons of nice mid-towers out there these days.

 

[Dhx]

Responses have been incredibly helpful. Thank you all for taking the time. Here is my current line of thinking with comments.

Updated Parts List:

• Case: I'm suddenly considering a mid-tower. The main reason I wanted a full tower was better cooling and ease of installation as I haven't build a PC since the x86 days.
  • Looking at Cooler Master HAF 912 ($56). Any other suggestions are welcomed. I was also thinking if I go with the HAF, I'd buy a 200mm fan and put it on top as exhaust.

• CPU: Intel 2500K ($230) - I don't live near a Micro Center
  

• CPU-Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo ($35)

• MoBo: Asus P8Z68-V LE ($130)

• RAM: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) ($38)
  • Don't see a problem going with these over the GSKILL. Opinions welcome.
    

• SSD: Crucial M4 128 GB ($165) + HDD : HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D ($100)
  • New wrinkle here. I'm considering going all out SSD with a OCZ Agility 3 240 GB ($250 + $30 gift card that will go toward another component).
  • Any thoughts on this vs. utilizing the SRT? I'd have 64 GB left over after caching on the Crucial 128, and I was going to install Win7 in that remaining space. Is that feasible with SRT or would Win 7 have to go on the plotter drive?

• GPU:GIGABYTE GeForce 560 Ti OC ($225 - Purchased for current PC; will be reusing)

• PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650w ($61.50)

• DVD: Lite-On DVD Burner ($18)

TOTAL: $1013 (OCZ 240) or $1058 (Crucial 128 + Hitachi 750)



This board has been an amazing help. Thanks, everyone.

 

[Charlie98]

As for case, what makes you think that you need/want a full tower? The components you have listed certainly don't warrant it. There are tons of nice mid-towers out there these days.

He's correct... I have my build in a HAF 922... a mid-tower, and it's probably too much. Lots of room, for sure, and a joy to work in, but I probably would have been just as well served with a 912.

Crucial RAM is good, I have it in my laptops and it's a no-brainer.

To do it over again, I would have gone with a 128MB SSD instead of the 60MB, and just put everything on it, instead of splitting programs between my SSD and HDD. If you can swing a 256MB Agility3, and, depending on your data storage requirements, go with a 500GB or up Hibachi HDD, you would be in high cotton.

That being said, I have 2 500GB Hitachis... one for storage, and one with two partitions: 60GB for SSD backup, the rest for HHD backup. But that's just me. ...oh, and a separate 500GB external HDD to backup my backups....

 

[General Kenobi]

The LE is certainly a fine choice, but the ASRock does most certainly have UEFI.

So it does, thanks for pointing that out. I probably should get my eysight checked again if I miss stuff like that.

 

[General Kenobi]

• Case: I'm suddenly considering a mid-tower. The main reason I wanted a full tower was better cooling and ease of installation as I haven't build a PC since the x86 days.
  • Looking at Cooler Master HAF 912 ($56). Any other suggestions are welcomed. I was also thinking if I go with the HAF, I'd buy a 200mm fan and put it on top as exhaust.

• SSD: Crucial M4 128 GB ($165) + HDD : HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D ($100)
  • New wrinkle here. I'm considering going all out SSD with a OCZ Agility 3 240 GB ($250 + $30 gift card that will go toward another component).
  • Any thoughts on this vs. utilizing the SRT? I'd have 64 GB left over after caching on the Crucial 128, and I was going to install Win7 in that remaining space. Is that feasible with SRT or would Win 7 have to go on the plotter drive?

I've got the HAF 912 Plus, but I don't know if they sell it in North America. It has a matching black interior paintjob, but it's not that much of a deal if you don't care about such things. It comes with a red LED 200mm CM MegaFlow front intake fan - I don't think the regular 912 has one out of the box. I'm not using a top fan with my setup, just the 200mm front intake fan & 120mm exhaust fan at the back. HAF 912 is a great case, especially at that price. I know one guy who has the HAF X full tower case, and he keeps saying it's way too big, but handy for installing hardware.

As for storage, I'd go with your original Crucial M4 SSD + Hitachi .D HDD plan. That particular OCZ model isn't anywhere near as good as Crucial M4. OCZ's own Vertex 3 240GB is also quite a lot better than Agility 3 240GB.

 

[Charlie98]

I know one guy who has the HAF X full tower case, and he keeps saying it's way too big, but handy for installing hardware.

...sure it's easy! The X is so big, you can crawl in there to change components...

OCZ's own Vertex 3 240GB is also quite a lot better than Agility 3 240GB.

The Agility is OCZ's mid-level offering, if IRC, the Vertex is the speedster.

 

[General Kenobi]

The Agility is OCZ's mid-level offering, if IRC, the Vertex is the speedster.

Correct, but the point is that the 240GB Agility 3 isn't worth its price. There's nothing wrong with getting a mid-range SSD, but there's no point in picking this one when other manufacturers offer better units in the same price range. If I had to pick something from Newegg, I'd take Corsair Force Series 3 240GB for almost the same money.

 

[mfenn]

Responses have been incredibly helpful. Thank you all for taking the time. Here is my current line of thinking with comments.

Updated Parts List:

• Case: I'm suddenly considering a mid-tower. The main reason I wanted a full tower was better cooling and ease of installation as I haven't build a PC since the x86 days.
  • Looking at Cooler Master HAF 912 ($56). Any other suggestions are welcomed. I was also thinking if I go with the HAF, I'd buy a 200mm fan and put it on top as exhaust.

• CPU: Intel 2500K ($230) - I don't live near a Micro Center
  

• CPU-Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo ($35)

• MoBo: Asus P8Z68-V LE ($130)

• RAM: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) ($38)
  • Don't see a problem going with these over the GSKILL. Opinions welcome.
    

• SSD: Crucial M4 128 GB ($165) + HDD : HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D ($100)
  • New wrinkle here. I'm considering going all out SSD with a OCZ Agility 3 240 GB ($250 + $30 gift card that will go toward another component).
  • Any thoughts on this vs. utilizing the SRT? I'd have 64 GB left over after caching on the Crucial 128, and I was going to install Win7 in that remaining space. Is that feasible with SRT or would Win 7 have to go on the plotter drive?

• GPU:GIGABYTE GeForce 560 Ti OC ($225 - Purchased for current PC; will be reusing)

• PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650w ($61.50)

• DVD: Lite-On DVD Burner ($18)

TOTAL: $1013 (OCZ 240) or $1058 (Crucial 128 + Hitachi 750)



This board has been an amazing help. Thanks, everyone.

Those parts look fine to me (with the M4 SSD) and I probably wouldn't even bother with the additional top fan in the 912. The i5 and GTX 560 don't run terribly hot.

 

[infoiltrator]

You cannot go wrong with a HAF 912.
The 922 is slightly larger and includes two 200mm fans and a 120mm rear fan. The 200mm fans can $14-26 each depending on sales and shipping. $100 before $15 MIR.
What size motherboard and cooling are desired?

 

[Charlie98]

You cannot go wrong with a HAF 912.
The 922 is slightly larger and includes two 200mm fans and a 120mm rear fan. The 200mm fans can $14-26 each depending on sales and shipping. $100 before $15 MIR.
What size motherboard and cooling are desired?

I added 2 fans to my HAF922 when I was having CPU heat problems, including a 'pull' fan on my 212+... they had very little effect on CPU temps. My advise is to just run what comes with it, you should be OK if your ambient temps are reasonable.

(The caveat I would add would be one or more GPU's... I don't currently have a GPU.)

 

[Charlie98]

Correct, but the point is that the 240GB Agility 3 isn't worth its price. There's nothing wrong with getting a mid-range SSD, but there's no point in picking this one when other manufacturers offer better units in the same price range. If I had to pick something from Newegg, I'd take Corsair Force Series 3 240GB for almost the same money.

The price points of the different SSD's right now is changing almost daily... what looks like a good deal yesterday is old news today!

 

[Skott]

Another vote for the HAF 912. There are many good choices for a case in the $50 range. Some go on sale too for less from time to time. What I liked about the 912 over the 922 was that the middle cage in the 912 is removable whereas in the 922 it is not. Removing the cage increases airflow to the GPU area and it also allows for the biggest GPU cards. Thats a nice feature I really like.

 

[Dhx]

Some final changes after more reading and consideration.

Updated Parts List:

• Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ($56).
  • I've read a ton since the last posting and this seems to be a real winner as far as quality, space, and value are concerned. The one recommendation I'll probably follow is to add a top exhaust fan and side intake to help with CPU, chipset, GPU temps.
    

• CPU: Intel 2500K ($230)
  

• CPU-Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo ($35)

• MoBo: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ($122)
  • The ASUS went back up to $138 and I just couldn't find a reason to go with it over the ASRock. I probably won't ever use the SLI support, but I'm willing to pay $14 over a ASRock Pro3 just to cover my bases.
    

• RAM: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) [1600 1.35v] ($35)
  • After more reading, it seems most go with 1.5v RAM with an i5 2500k. Is there any reason at all the lower voltage RAM would be prohibitive? The other RAM option that's come up is the CORSAIR XMS3 8GB [1333 1.5v] ($28). Unless swayed otherwise, I'll probably go with the Crucial sticks, however.
    

• SSD:OCZ Agility 3 240 GB ($250 + $30 gift card).
  • I realize I'll catch some flak here, but I couldn't pass it up at $220. It has already shot back up to $260 ($290 + GC). I ordered the drive before the sale and rebate offer ended. I really wanted to run everything from a SSD and this seemed to be my best course of action given cost restrictions. I'll just have to learn to clone generously, I suppose.
    

• GPU:GIGABYTE GeForce 560 Ti OC ($225 - Purchased for current PC; will be reusing)

• PSU: Seasonic M12II 620w ($90)
  • I was a click away from ordering the Corsair, but last minute reviews mentioned excessive and constant fan noise. I then confirmed this with several threads on the Corsair forums and posted a thread in the PSU forum here for feedback. While the Corsair seems to be a fantastic unit, I leave my PC on often at night and it's in my bedroom. I'll pay a bit extra for silence when idle.
  • My initial alternative was a Antec ECO 620C. Feedback from the PSU subforum indicated this was essentially a Seasonic S12II and thus very quiet. Further discussion pushed me toward the modular version of that PSU given my minimal number of components (M12II).
    

• DVD: Lite-On DVD Burner ($18)

TOTAL: $1056

This thread and my prior and subsequent research have reminded me how much fun building your own PC can be. I'll be ordering parts over the next week, so please get in any final comments. Your feedback has been essential.

 

[Charlie98]

At this point you could split hairs over specs, but why bother... it looks pretty good.

 

[General Kenobi]

Not bad. It's your build, so you should be able to make your own decisions when it's a close call (SSDs). Just remember that SSDs really do fail without warning more often than mechanical drives at this point.

 

[Charlie98]

Just remember that SSDs really do fail without warning more often than mechanical drives at this point.

STOP saying that!!! You are going to make me go and buy another HDD... for just in case my backedup backup drive fails... D:

 

[mfenn]

Your parts look pretty good. I would mostly quibble over the PSU. IMHO $90 is too much to be spending on one for this build. Check out the Enermax NAXN 82+ for $65 AR.